Photo Essay: Budget Safari in Masai Mara, Kenya

I always wanted to go on safari. The problem is, now I have been, and I want to go back even more than I yearned for it in the first place. My daughter and I were going to see three World Vision kids in Africa, and our one true splurge for ourselves was a short, budget safari. Sure, I would have preferred three weeks, but those trips can cost $20,000 or much more. We had to settle for three days. We left Monday morning from Nairobi, drove to the Masai Mara National Reserve and had an afternoon game drive. The next day, we had a full day game drive in the Mara, Wednesday we drove to Lake Nakuru, famous for its thousands of flamingoes. We had a game drive in the afternoon there and one the following morning, and we were done. It was all over much too fast, and that is a very modest safari (budget, budget, budget), but we still had a wonderful time and saw all the main animals except the leopard. That trip cost us about $600 each in 2006, and that was after major hours on the Internet searching the possibilities.

Unfortunately, safari tours are becoming the playground of the rich, but I am here to tell you it is possible to have a great experience without a great bank account. We stayed in very cheap ($8.00 per night) hotels the rest of the time in Africa, and we could have tried a camping safari which would have been a somewhat cheaper safari. My daughter wanted to, but I was afraid my old bones would be too sore from sleeping on the ground to enjoy myself during the day. So in this safari, we actually stayed for those three nights in nicer places than we did the rest of our three week trip, Masai Mara Sopa Lodge and Lake Nakuru Lodge. They were very nice to us, but would be on the lower end to the rich folk. I also would have been able to go for $100.00 more cheaply if I hadn't delayed on my commitment trying to find yet another better deal. We were going in August, the most popular time in Kenya, and my delay from March to April cost me money as our bargaining power declined.

It was scary to choose a lesser known safari company and send half the money across the Atlantic because it is more reassuring to go with a famous safari company; however, with fame comes higher prices. Ours was fine. We actually had a driver and vehicle for just the two of us, which usually costs more, and then we paid the company another $100 (plus tip) for the driver, car and gas for three days driving around Kenya and eventually to the airport. That was a wonderful relief and help as we continued on our journey to visit a World Vision child in Kabernet and stopped at Hell's Gate National Park in Kenya where you are allowed to hike or bike on your own.

Longer safaris not only allow you to see more species of animals, but they mean more and better photo opportunities. Animals do not exactly volunteer to pose for you, so it takes time and luck to get the best shots. I would have better pctures of the animals I saw if I had three weeks, so I can't compete with that, but I was pleased with the opportunties I had in such a short time. I find it annoying that safari companies are catering more and more to those with unlimited resources because it is an experience that should be available to us all. It is so different to see animals in their natural habitat. We always hear, "It's a jungle out there," but even the predators like the lions and crocodiles spend most of their days just basking serenely in the sun. It gives you a whole new perspective on the natural order of Africa and its animal inhabitants.